Who This Guide Is For
This page covers self-employed taxi and private hire drivers in the UK — Uber, Bolt, FreeNow, Addison Lee, hackney carriage drivers, and TfL or local-authority licensed PHV drivers. If you are employed by a fleet on PAYE, MTD does not apply to that income.
Gross Fares — The Number That Matters
HMRC tests the threshold against your gross fares — the full fare your passenger paid, before the platform deducts its commission. A driver with £45,000 of net Uber pay may actually be over £55,000 of gross fares once the service fee is added back. Your MTD software must record the gross figure as income and the commission as an expense.
What You Need to Record
- Weekly Uber, Bolt and FreeNow statements (gross fares + commissions).
- Tips and surge fares.
- Mileage log or actual fuel + vehicle costs (choose one method per vehicle).
- PCO car rental, finance, insurance (hire-and-reward), MOT, valeting, repairs.
- TfL or council licence fees, vehicle plate fee, knowledge test fees.
- Phone bill (business %), dashcam, in-car phone holder, water for passengers.
Quarterly Updates for Drivers
You will submit four quarterly updates each year summarising fare income and allowable costs, plus a final declaration after the tax year ends. Most driver-friendly software lets you import the weekly Uber or Bolt CSV directly so you do not have to re-key anything.
Mileage or actual costs — which is right for you
There are two ways to claim vehicle costs, and the right one depends on how you get your car. If you own your vehicle, simplified mileage is often simplest: HMRC’s flat rate of 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter covers fuel, insurance, servicing and wear. If you rent a PCO car or have significant finance and running costs, the actual costs method usually gives a bigger, more accurate claim — you deduct the real rental, fuel, insurance and repairs (business proportion). You choose one method per vehicle and stick with it while you keep that car.
Your deadlines as a driver
Once in MTD you file four quarterly updates — due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May — and a final declaration by 31 January after the tax year. If you are mandated from April 2026, remember the first-year easingmeans no penalty points for late quarterly updates in your first 12 months, though tax is still due on time.
Best MTD Software for Drivers
Driver-friendly options include Coconut, FreeAgent, QuickBooks Self-Employed and Tide accounting — all support mobile receipt capture and mileage tracking. If you keep a weekly cash book in Excel, MTD bridging software can submit it to HMRC without changing your workflow.